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by Susan Smith - Managing EditorEach GIS Weekly Review delivers to its readers news concerning the latest developments in the GIS industry, GIS product and company news, featured downloads, customer wins, and coming events, along with a selection of other articles that we feel you might find interesting. Brought to you by GISCafe.com. If we miss a story or subject that you feel deserves to be included, or you just want to suggest a future topic, please contact us! Questions? Feedback? Click here. Thank you!

Update on CAD/GIS Interoperability

This week I spoke with Viktor Bullain, Architectural Consultant for Graphisoft ArchiCAD, who told me that Graphisoft and ESRI have created an interface for exchanging information between the GIS and the Virtual Building environment.

Graphisoft to ESRI--ArchiCAD can export the shell of a building to Arc GIS 9.

ESRI to Graphisoft--ESRI GIS data can be imported as ArchiCAD Objects, 3D mesh and 2D Polyline.

The interface is planned to be available before the end of the year.

Acquisitions/Alliances/Agreements

DigitalGlobe announced that Merrick Advanced Photogrammetry of the Americas S. de R.L. de C.V. (MAPATM) is now an authorized reseller of QuickBird high-resolution satellite imagery in Mexico. MAPA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Colorado-based Merrick & Company.

Applied Geographics, Inc. (AppGeo) and Joan N. Gardner announce that after 13 years of service with the firm, Ms. Gardner, the founding president and majority shareholder, has sold her ownership interest to a group of current officers. Under the terms of the transaction, Ms. Gardner has retired from her current posts as Treasurer and Chairman of the Board and she has sold her entire interest in the company.

The current President, Richard Grady, leads the management buyout team that also includes Michael Terner, Executive Vice President and a founding partner; David Weaver, Vice President and a founding partner; Peter Girard, Vice President; and Steven Anderson, Vice President. The new ownership team looks forward to continuing and extending the successes achieved by the company during the past 13 years.

Announcements

“Georeferencing Rasters in ArcGIS,” a new free, live training seminar from ESRI Virtual Campus, will instruct ArcGIS 9 users who work with raster data on registering rasters to a known projection. This seminar will take place on October 14, 2004, at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. More information about Georeferencing Rasters in ArcGIS, including instructions for attending and a schedule of upcoming seminars, is available at

“Working with ArcGIS Schematics,” another new course from ESRI Instructor-Led Training, gives instruction to ArcGIS users about how to produce detailed schematics from linear network features. A complete list of prerequisites and a class schedule, as well as registration information,

detailed instructor-led course outlines, and other information, is available at

Research Systems, Inc. (RSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT Industries, and a part of its Space Systems Division, announced that it has been awarded two contracts from BAE SYSTEMS for the development of software to support DigitalGlobe's next-generation satellite imaging system, WorldView. The contracts are for the development of a workflow-based Image QC software platform and new image quality tools for the NextView Program. RSI's software will be delivered in iterations during 2004 and integrated into the new satellite imaging system that will be operational in 2005. ITT Industries was previously awarded a contract to build the imaging system for the WorldView satellite.

Autodesk, Intergraph, Laser-Scan, MapInfo, and Oracle introduced a real-world interoperable spatial data management platform in September 2003 to leverage and advance the spatial capabilities of an open spatial enterprise that enables customers to use critical location information in an IT environment and with multiple applications.. At the SPATIAL-TECH 2004 Symposium, Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions (booth # 711) is highlighting the interoperability advancements of its geospatial intelligence solutions through demonstrations of real-world security scenarios. Geospatial capabilities are increasingly being used by first responders, emergency management officials and government

leaders for critical infrastructure protection and public safety. Intergraph geospatial intelligence solutions enable these officials to combine data from diverse sources, such as local, state, national and private sector organizations, into a single environment for better decision making and response.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced nearly $4.9 million in grants to train workers for careers in the geospatial industry. The Secretary of Labor's video announcement was made to over 1,500 geospatial, defense and homeland security experts at the Spatial Tech 2004 Conference in Orlando.

UCLID Software released a schedule of parcel mapping webinars to demonstrate the latest release of IcoMap which is optimized for ArcGIS 9.0. The live 20-minute sessions are informative, free of charge and easy to attend. Online registration is available at

Since 2002, when the Larsen B ice shelf broke away from the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists have witnessed profound increases in the flow of nearby glaciers into the Weddell Sea. These observations were made possible through NASA, Canadian and European satellite data.

Two NASA-funded reports, appearing in the Geophysical Research Letters journal, used different techniques to arrive at similar results. Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md., and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colo., said the findings prove ice shelves act as "brakes" on the glaciers that flow into them. The results also suggest climate warming can rapidly lead to rises in sea level.

Sport utility vehicle (SUV) registrations in Maryland increased 59 percent between 1997 and 2002, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. SUV registrations jumped from 290,800 in 1997 to 463,300 in 2002.

The Department of Homeland Security awarded $9 million in information technology demonstration projects in the Information Technology and Evaluation Program (ITEP). ITEP is a competitive program intended to foster and evaluate uses of existing, “state-of-the-market” information technology that will demonstrate how to remove barriers and improve information sharing and integration.

“One of the important lessons our nation learned in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was that we had to do a better job of sharing information at all levels of government, as well as with the private sector," said C. Suzanne Mencer, Executive Director of the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness. "The technology demonstrated through ITEP will improve our

ability to analyze and share information critical to the nation's ability to prevent, respond to and recover from terrorism and other major events.”

Seismicity continues at Mt. St. Helens. The following is the September 29, 2004 report:

“Increased seismicity overnight prompted raising the alert level to Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2) at 10:40 A.M., PDT, this morning. Throughout the day the seismic energy level has remained at an elevated with a rate of 3-4 events per minute including an increase in the number of events between Magnitude 2 and 3. All earthquake locations are still shallow and in or below the lava dome. In addition, initial data from the GPS instrument on the lava dome that was repaired Monday morning suggest that the site moved a few inches northward Monday and Tuesday, but has since been stable. Such movement is not surprising in light of the high seismicity levels. A USGS field crew

continued their deployment of GPS equipment today in order to monitor any ground movement on the lava dome, crater floor, or lower slopes of the volcano. Another gas flight this morning produced a result of no significant volcanic gas detected, as was the case on Monday. Two press conferences were held at CVO to update the media. Tomorrow's field work includes continued GPS deployments.”

Geoscape International has announced the first annual Multicultural Market Intelligence Summit. The first annual Summit brings together the state-of-the art in geo-demographics, analytics, visualization and best practices across industries. This milestone event will facilitate the interchange of ideas among those who want to make sure they are at the forefront of America's cultural transformation.

ITT) Space Systems Division has applied its more than 50 years of remote sensing expertise to the natural gas industry to enhance pipeline safety. The company will field test new airborne natural gas leak detection technology this fall and exhibit improved pipeline and safety capabilities to the energy industry at the International Pipeline Exposition in Calgary, Oct. 6-8, 2004. A new service called Airborne Natural Gas Emission Lidar (ANGEL) based on these capabilities will be commercially available through select channel partners during the first